Films

What Lies Upstream

Director: Cullen Hoback

Producers: Cullen Hoback, Nitin Khanna, John Ramos

USA, 2017

In this political thriller, filmmaker Cullen Hoback investigates the largest chemical drinking water contamination in a generation. But something is rotten in both state and federal regulatory agencies. Through years of persistent examination, we learn the shocking truth about what’s really happening with drinking water in America.

Terms And Conditions May Apply

Director: Cullen Hoback

Producers: Cullen Hoback, Nitin Khanna, John Ramos

USA, 2013

Terms and Conditions May Apply is a feature-length documentary that reveals how corporations and the government collect and exploit the information that users, often unwittingly, provide when browsing a website, installing an application, or purchasing goods online. It criticizes companies such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn for having poorly worded and misguiding privacy policies/terms of service, using language in long documents that allows them to collect user information and legally provide it to third-party users. The film aims to warn people about the risks of clicking “I Agree” after scrolling through pages of uninviting text.

After its festival premiere at Slamdance in January 2013, TACMA was released theatrically and played in over 40 US cities. It received an 85% “Fresh” rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, got excellent reviews in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, and Variety, and was a New York Times Critic’s Pick. It has been watched millions of times worldwide and has been screened on Capitol Hill and in front of the EU Parliament.

FrICTION

Director: Cullen Hoback

Writers: Cullen Hoback, Jerome Schwartz

USA, 2010

Filmmaker Cullen Hoback travels to a private high school where he writes a script about a real couple and the student who comes between them. Through the process of making the film, hidden truths about the real lives of the actors playing themselves are revealed, and the line between fiction and reality blurs. What remains is part documentary, part fiction, in a one of a kind story that will keep you guessing long after the shattering conclusion.

Monster Camp

Director: Cullen Hoback

Producers: Cullen Hoback, Aaron Douglas

USA, 2007

Monster Camp is a rare and fascinating glimpse into the world of live-action role playing, or “LARPing,” a real life version of World of Warcraft where gamer stereotypes are simultaneously shattered and confirmed.

Monster Camp meticulously examines the lives of die-hard gamers at Nero Seattle, one of 50 franchises worldwide that abides by similar principles, rules and ideologies. At Nero, for 48 consecutive hours, participants immerse themselves in a world completely unlike our own. Software engineers, department store managers, and high school students by day, for one weekend each month these Nero players transform themselves into warriors, sorcerers, dwarves, and lizard people. It is a place where people can be anything, dress any way, and have almost any power. Where players inhabit a world of fantasy, chivalry, and imagination. A world of their own creation. If only for one weekend a month.